


Watching You From Afar

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Dark, Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Panic Attacks, Paranoia, Stalker, Team TARDIS, Telepathy, Threats, Unhealthy Relationships, non consensual telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:54:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26714800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: The reader feels like they are being watched everywhere they go. They put it down to paranoia, exhaustion, until one evening they hear a stranger’s voice in their head, whispering all manner of dark and dangerous things.
Relationships: The Master (Dhawan)/Reader, Thirteenth Doctor & Reader
Comments: 11
Kudos: 35





	Watching You From Afar

“Do you ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?”

The Doctor glanced over her shoulder, face covered in the same dirt that currently coated you all. In her defence, she claimed not to have known that the bridge back to the TARDIS passed over a sentient mud pool and promised that it wasn’t harmful to humans, even though it was a little grim. That was of little consolation when you’d ruined your favourite shoes.

The thick layer of dried mud cracked slightly as she wrinkled her nose, fingers running through her tangled blonde hair to remove the stick that kept scratching the back of her neck. “All the time. Ninety six percent of the time, it’s you guys. The other four… Well, you just can’t trust the trees to mind their own business.”

“I don’t think the trees are watching you, Doc.”

She waved a muddy hand at Graham and launched into a spiel about how the trees were always watching and that they really ought to thank her for being so interesting and knowledgeable because it had to be boring to be a tree without people like her around to liven the atmosphere. “I admit, I don’t sing as well as the wind but I tell far better jokes, don’t I, Yaz?”

As Yaz hummed in agreement, Ryan fell back to match his pace with yours. He stumbled over the uneven brickwork and you caught his arm, pulling him back up straight without a word. “Cheers. Can I ask a question?”

“Always.”

“Is everything alright with you? I mean, you’ve been zoning out a bit lately. Staring off into the distance and like.”

It took a lot more effort to conjure a smile than it normally would. “I’m good.”

Ryan did not believe you in the slightest, and for good reason. You were slowly but surely losing your mind. Everywhere you went, you felt eyes on the back of your neck, watching you, studying your every movement. It didn’t matter where in the universe The Doctor took you, it was always the same feeling.

For a while, you put it down to stress and exhaustion. Travelling with the fam in the TARDIS was incredible, beyond anything you could ever have imagined for your life, but it was tiring and The Doctor, with her alien biology and hyperactive mind, often forgot to give you, Yaz, Ryan and Graham the time off you needed to relax, re-cooperate and process exactly what you’d seen.

Everyone had suffered the same at first. Yaz had heard the stars talking to her in the middle of the afternoon. Graham saw forbidden colours, wavelengths beyond any natural spectrum. Ryan got so exhausted that he wrapped himself around the central console and refused to move for three days, even though he got time-burns and parts of his body de-aged by over a decade. But then all of their strange symptoms passed with a bit of rest where yours stayed, and grew even stronger.

Recently, you had started jumping at shadows. You were convinced that there were hidden cameras both in the TARDIS and dotted random around these far flung planets, capturing your every movement for the enjoyment of a distant onlooker. Just last week, you woke in the middle of the night certain that you weren’t alone in your room. You hadn’t slept properly since.

It was literally driving you insane and obviously your attempts to hide your suffering were now beginning to falter. Clawing your hands down your face in the guise of removing some of the thick alien mud that would no doubt be home to a poison microbe and cause bright purple boils to erupt across your skin, you stared up at the bright green sky and sighed. “I’ve not been sleeping well, that’s all.”

“I’m sure the Doc can give you something for it.”

“Yeah,” you smiled tightly. “I’m sure you’re right.”

Later that evening, when you finally made it back to the ship, you caught Ryan and The Doctor muttering in the corner, throwing concerned glances in your direction. On the one hand, actually knowing that you were being watched – by your friends, your family – almost calmed your nerves. It was real, not a warped sensation from the darkest parts of your mind. But on the other, having spent weeks under the scrutiny, your nerves spiked to ridiculous levels.

Adrenaline flooded your system. Every inch of your body shook, your very bones trembling. Convinced they might shatter, that sharp fragments would tear you apart from the inside, you quickly and quietly excused yourself from their company and all but ran back to your bedroom.

You slammed the door shut, slid down the wooden length and curled yourself up in a ball, head between your knees as you fought back the waves of nausea. Tears streamed down your cheeks, your breath came short and shallow as the atmosphere grew heavier against your chest, squeezed what little air you could retain from your lungs.

_You’re okay._

Your head shot up. You scanned every corner of the room for sign that you weren’t alone but everything was exactly as it had been, how it should be. The bed was perfectly made. The cushions on the chair hadn’t been disturbed. None of your books had been disturbed, they were still in the right order, and the rug was flat as ever, no upturned corners or sign of having being stepped on.

Practically tearing your hair from your scalp, you squeezed your eyes shut and took a long, deep breath. The TARDIS was telepathic. Maybe this was the ship sensing your distress and reaching out to you. That would be nice. She seemed nice. The Doctor always thought so. Taking you all on adventures around the universe, sharing wonderful things, always there to protect you afterwards.

Yeah, that made sense. A perfectly reasonable explanation.

_It’s not the bloody ship, love._

“Get out of my head!” You launched yourself into the nearest corner, made your body as small as humanly possible as if it might help protect you from the disembodied intruder. You tried to call out for The Doctor but the scream caught in your throat, a garbled sound like a cat being strangled.

 _None of that, now. You don’t need to be afraid of me._ He – definitely a he; you could tell that much even through the distortion – reconsidered. _Well, only a little._

His laugh echoed around the inside of your skull, scratching against the back of your eyes like a thousand tiny pin needles. A face came to mind, familiar in the same way as deja-vu; that dark glare and sharp jaw kindled a recollection of someone you had yet meet, events which had yet to unfurl but may also have already happened. If you’d learned anything from The Doctor it was that time was fickle like that.

“Please leave me alone,” you begged, voice as small and timid as you had ever been.

He hummed thoughtfully and then announced quite resoundingly: _No, I don’t think I will._

_“Please.”_

You winced at the ghostly touch of a hand on your head, a firm weight that could not possibly be there. He stroked your hair with such gentle intent that only served to make each word he spoke even worse. A sickness rose in your throat as he crooned, almost as if to a pet, I’ve been watching you for a long time, love. You are quite something. Wasted on The Doctor.

The Doctor. Yes, she would save you from this. All you had to do was call her somehow. But your voice was absent when you attempted to scream her name and your mind trapped in a bubble of oppressive interest, too thick for your feeble thoughts to escape.

 _Nice try. That was almost smart._ His compliment was like acid on your skin. _But try to call for her again and you’ll regret it._

Fresh tears sprung to your eyes as you imagined all the different ways he could hurt you. Some images were so vivid that you knew they didn’t come from your own mind, projected in telepathically by this intruder, tinged with a wicked glee as he gauged your terrified reactions. Little more than a whisper, you asked, “What do you want with me?”

_Isn’t it obvious? I want you here with me. I can show you so many things that The Doctor could only dream of. We can rule golden planets and watch the greatest stars die. Doesn’t that sound nice?_

“I don’t want to rule a planet.”

_Then we can burn them to the ground instead. I know you’re tempted. No point trying to hide it when I’m inside your head. You’ll come to me eventually, you know. You’ll turn your backs on the pathetic apes you call friends and take my hand. We’ll do wondrous things together, you and I. We’ll make a brilliant team._

“No!”

You thrashed at the hands that grabbed you, screamed and twisted free before they restrained you, pulled your arms behind your back and held you steady. Even when The Doctor cupped your face, her hands trembling against your cheeks, you continued to lash out. “Hey, it’s alright. You’re okay.”

Rage and fear swirled inside you, fuelled with such power that she needed both Graham and Ryan to hold you back. Stepping forward once again, The Doctor gently but firmly touched your temples. Time slowed as she drew the negative energy from your body like sucking poison from a wound.

Slowly, you came back to yourself, stared blankly into the soft green eyes, filled with such caution and concern. “You’re safe. You’re in the TARDIS and no one is going to hurt you. You hear me? No one.”

You blinked hard, the images around you reconnecting into some kind of coherent surroundings. The engine moaned quietly in the distance. The lights were steady over head. The blonde woman in front of you grew from a single moment removed from time to a face you trusted. “Doctor?”

A bright smile illuminated her expression. “That’s me. You can let go now, guys.”

Your arms fell to your sides as Graham and Ryan stepped back. They exchanged a glance with The Doctor who simply nodded, wordlessly informing that she had everything under control. Graham said something about fetching you a cuppa. Ryan promised to come back with biscuits. You knew neither would be allowed back in until The Doctor gave her permission.

She led you over to the bed and sat you down on the edge. Knelt before you, she took your hands and asked simply, “What happened?”

It all came out in a flurry of emotions. How you hadn’t been sleeping, how your paranoia turned out to be founded in the twisted reality that someone was watching you from afar. “He was in my head, Doctor. He showed me… images. Planets burning. You all dying. Me by his side.”

“It wasn’t real.”

“It felt real. Doctor, I’m scared.”

“I won’t let him hurt you. Come on, lay down.” She manoeuvred you back against your pillows and tugged a blanket over your body. Perched on your bedside table, The Doctor leaned forward and touched your temples once more. A warmth encompassed your body, a tingling that wasn’t entirely unpleasant as it slowly crept down from your head to your toes.

Pulling back, The Doctor smiled and said, “Psychic shielding. Should keep whoever this is out of your mind until I can find a better solution. Get some rest. I’ll check on you later, okay?”

She flicked the light switch on her way out, leaving you alone in the darkness. You lay rigid for a good while, convinced that he was there, but eventually exhaustion took hold. Your eyes fluttered shut, the beautiful darkness embracing you. Knowing that you had The Doctor’s mental strength behind your own helped you to drift off into sleep, secure in the knowledge that she was protecting you.

As your thoughts grew heavy and your mind teetered on the edge of consciousness, you heard a whisper in the shadows, so far away, so quiet that you could almost have imagined it: _Sweet dreams, love. See you real soon._


End file.
